“We’ll definitely be in the mix.” That was Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. just this week, vowing to be aggressive on the trade market. It’s the kind of statement you have to make when you’re tasked with maximizing what’s left of the Steph Curry championship window. But it also overlooks the impossible tightrope he’s walking. The Warriors aren’t just a team looking to add talent; they’re a team staring down the barrel of a financial apocalypse. And now, a new trade rumor perfectly captures that dilemma: targeting Derrick White.

The rumor mill started churning when NBA insider Pasha Mardan dropped a fascinating nugget on X. He reported that the Warriors have spoken with the Celtics about a deal for Derrick White, but he added a crucial piece of context: “Derrick White will be the next name to watch for next unless Boston receives strong enough offers for Jaylen Brown so far nothing has intrigued them, sources tell me.” Mardan then followed up with a more direct report: “The Golden State Warriors have talked with the Celtics about what it will take to get a deal done for White, per sources.”

It frames White as a potential Plan B for the Celtics, a situation the Warriors might be able to exploit. The basketball fit is a no-brainer. In fact, just last month on The Zach Lowe Show, The Ringer’s Logan Murdoch called White the perfect stabilizer for a Warriors team that often looked chaotic in the non-Curry minutes, a guy who can “play defense and kind of just settle everyone down.”

Here’s where it gets interesting. At first glance, you might wonder why the Celtics, a team that just won a championship, would even consider trading a core piece like White. The answer is simple: they’ve been forced into a “retooling” year. With Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achilles injury likely sidelining him for all of next season, Boston has already made two shocking trades, sending out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis to duck under the NBA’s punitive “second apron” of the luxury tax.

But according to a report from longtime journalist Steve Bulpett, they might not be done. The Celtics are reportedly trying to trade up in the draft lottery to target Kasparas Jakucionis, a big, playmaking guard out of Illinois. Trading White and his $28 million salary would be the clearest path to acquiring the assets and financial flexibility needed to make such a move.

But while the basketball logic is sound, the financial reality for the Warriors is a nightmare. According to a breakdown by Ball Report, the trio of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler already accounts for roughly 90% of the Warriors’ projected salary cap for next season. That alone puts them in a tough spot. But the real issue is Jonathan Kuminga.

Kuminga is a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Warriors have the right to match any offer he receives. But if they re-sign him to a deal in the neighborhood of $25 million per year—a conservative estimate for a player of his potential—those four players alone would eat up a staggering 106% of the salary cap. It’s a financial straitjacket, and it puts Dunleavy in an impossible position. How can he trade for a player like Derrick White when his books are already a mess, and his most valuable young asset’s future is still up in the air? It’s a financial nightmare, one that forces Dunleavy to navigate a tough offseason where every decision, starting with his most important young player, is fraught with peril.

A “main priority” or a financial landmine? Jonathan Kuminga puts the Warriors in a bind

GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. has publicly called Kuminga a “main priority,” and has said he’d like to “figure something out sooner than later.” But it’s not that simple. As a restricted free agent, Kuminga’s future is in his own hands, to an extent. The Warriors have the right to match any offer sheet he signs with another team, but as Dunleavy admitted, restricted free agency “can drag out a little bit.”

The problem is, the Warriors don’t have time to be patient. They need clarity. A new deal for Kuminga will almost certainly push them into the dreaded second apron of the luxury tax, a financial prison that would make a trade for a player like Derrick White, who is owed $28 million, nearly impossible. This has created a high-stakes “game of chicken,” with the Warriors waiting to see if a team like the Brooklyn Nets—the only team with the cap space to make a huge offer—will force their hand.

There are also rumors of potential sign-and-trade deals with teams like the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, but any move is complicated by Kuminga’s undefined role. “There were moments where he wasn’t playing as much, then the role increased,” Dunleavy said. “(His role) will probably be necessary to clarify.”

With the Kuminga situation in flux, the Warriors are forced to look for creative, low-cost ways to improve. Dunleavy has been blunt about the team’s financial limitations, admitting it’s “almost impossible for us to add players in the salary range of guys we were looking at last summer since we’ve added Jimmy [Butler].” Instead, he says, the focus is on “getting better in the middle” of the roster. That means a heavy reliance on the draft and finding hidden gems on the veteran minimum market.

The Warriors currently hold the No. 41 pick in the draft, and while Dunleavy has tried to temper expectations, saying, “You’d be lucky to draft a guy in the second round that can make it at all,” this is where they have to find value. One intriguing name that has been mentioned to them is Marquette guard Kam Jones, a seasoned, four-year college player who could theoretically fill the bench-scoring void left by the Jordan Poole trade. He’s a cheap, NBA-ready prospect who fits a clear need.

This is the tightrope Mike Dunleavy Jr. is walking. He wants to be aggressive, to stay “in the mix,” but the new CBA and the uncertainty around Jonathan Kuminga have tied his hands. A veteran like Derrick White would be a dream fit—but far less likely than a summer of bargain hunting, second-round swings, and hoping the Kuminga situation doesn’t derail the franchise for years to come.